The Ford “Masutangu” isn’t just a funny Japanese pronunciation of our favorite pony car. It’s the name of a building that’s part 1965 junk, part 1996 junk. That’s right, this thing is riding on top of a Civic chassis!
There are more Mustang chassis swaps on YouTube than we can count right now. B is for Build, for example, is doing one on top of a movie car chassis that used to look like a Bugatti. Meanwhile, lots of other people are using modern Mustang gear.
However, Tom’s Refurb uses a 1996 Honda Civic with hilarious results. In the words of the builder, this project took way too much time to complete. But what do you expect when the two vehicles are of such different origins while being spaced 30+ years apart.
The outcome is undeniably cool, though. This Mad Max rust bucket look fits the Masutangu so well. It’s different in all the right ways. And while the bodywork seems to be held together with bubblegum and tape, there’s a visible roll cage to assure you that it’s relatively safe… as long as you have your tetanus shots.
Grandpa’s Mustang didn’t have VTEC
This car drives like a modified Civic, obviously. The VTEC motor has a bigger turbo and squirts exhaust flames right next to the front bumper, like a little drag car. It’s also about as legal as a drag car on the road too, having no tags and questionable body rigidity.
“This is what a classic Ford Mustang was meant to sound like,” Tom says in an obvious attempt to anger the purists. This is a tribute to WhistlinDiesel‘s style of annoying everybody to get views.
For the most part, the video is about hooning down the road in a rural area of… let’s call it Mexico for legal reasons. But there’s also burnout actional. It’s just not natural to see front-wheel-drive burnouts in a Mustang. And if that doesn’t anger the purists, nothing will.
I suppose if a car is sacred enough, it’s going to get desecrated for YouTube views. And there’s no automotive shape more sacred than a 1965 Ford Mustang, as American as guns, fireworks, and rolling coal on the Prius.
But Tom does deserve any attention he’s going to get for this stunt. He didn’t just slap a Mustang body on top of Civic. Even though it’s all rusted, he spent a lot of time ensuring it looks interesting, fabricating a Shelby-like front end with KR vents and a GT350 bumper, as well as rust-aero on the back end.
